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SUMMARY

In the medical community, there are unlicensed doctors.  These men take on cases that regular doctors are afraid to even consider.  The best is a mysterious surgeon named Black Jack.  With his companion Pinoko, Black Jack is the only hope for those who have none.

This time Blackjack goes the beleaguered Ortega Republic.  His client is the leader of Ortega, General Cruz.  The problem is, Cruz is on the run from the soldiers of the Federal Unites, their neighbors.  Before Blackjack has a chance to operate, they are forced to move.  Now, the question is, what will kill him first; the cancer or the special forces of the Federal Unites?

Blackjack then travels to Paris for a much needed vacation.  While there, he is asked to help a young movie actress suffering from anorexia.  He must also keep her from enlisting the services of Dr. Kirkio, who performs euthanasia for those who are willing to pay.

Who will win the race, the healer, or the killer?

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The quality is excellent.  There are no pixels or errors noted.  The colors are solid, and the motion, fluid.

AUDIO: The Japanese 2.0 sounds like it's the original mono soundtrack.  There is not a lot of directionality, and a slight mono hiss, but still enjoyable.

The English 2.0 is quite loud, especially when the music plays.  The dialogue is center speaker based, with limited sound effects from the side. 

For the audio commentary, you can only hear Osamu Tezuka and the interviewer. 

EDITS: Clean open and close are used.  Japanese episode titles have been replaced with English.

EXTRAS: The CPM trailer for the two Black Jack OVA's and an "art gallery".  That's it.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: One of the darker characters made by the incomparable Osamu Tezuka, Black Jack is a cool as ice superman.  Kuniaki Yamashita, Eto Mori, along with "Golgo 13" director Osamu Dezaki take the already black story and gives it a film noir quality.  While there isn't always a lot of action, the writers weave an interesting mystery that keeps you enthralled.

ACTING:  The cast on both sides is excellent.  Great range and intensity.  Unfortunately, I don't know who played what part, so I can comment on the individual performances.

FAN SERVICE: Ahh, Osamu Dezaki is back.  We get two very hot ladies, buck naked!  Well, the second one starts off hot, but goes down hill quickly!

CONCLUSION:

Black Jack continues to be a fascinating and absorbing series.  A cross between a medical drama and CSI, Black Jack is an anime like no other.

In volume one, I remarked on how much Black Jack wasn't a very "action packed" series, when compared to Osamu Dezaki's "Golgo 13". All that changes with episode three.  Similar in tone to "Golgo 13: Queen Bee", there is a lot of gunplay, full frontal nudity, and plenty of back room politics.  This is a very atypical movie for our "genius" surgeon.

I was quite surprised with how Black Jack behaved in this episode.  Normally, he doesn't get involved with the issues surrounding his patients.  He virtually ignores the beautiful women who throw themselves at him, and he never get pissed off.

Not in this episode.  He actually finds himself falling for the lovely Maria, leader of the freedom fighters.  He doesn't even turn her away when she comes to his tent, naked!  When confronted by secret service agent, not only does he draw a gun, but punches the jerk when he smarts off.  This is not typical behavior for our cool as ice doctor.

It's also interesting to see how the US is viewed from the outside.  The Federal Unites is a thinly (and I do mean thinly) veiled reference to the United States. The FU (someone has a sense of humor) invade the country of Ortega to arrest a "known drug trafficker".  The true reason, they want Ortega's oil reserves.  While some of you may be thinking "Iraq", it's more like a blending of the Grenada invasion and the arrest of Manuel Noriega in Panama.  Still, similarities abound.

The second episode is back to formula, as Black Jack tries to figure out why an actress named Michelle is suffering from anorexia.  Every turn he makes, he can't find what is causing her sickness.  He also has to contend with another "illegal" doctor named Krikio, who may hold the key to her survival, or help her die.

The reason for Black Jack's animosity toward him is simple.  Doctor Kiriko performs Euthanasia for wealthy clients.  While it's not a topic that many of us grapple with, it does cause a lot of concern in the medical community.  Most doctors don't like the idea of assisted suicide, feeling that it's a violation of the Hippocratic oath.  Now, if you are expecting episode four to be an ethical debate on the validity of Euthanasia, it isn't.  The focus of this episode is on Black Jack and his search for a cure.  The philosophical debate is for another time.

The animation is unmistakable Dezaki.  There are the well known sketchbook looking freeze frames, split screen shots, and strange angle shots that only he can do. Despite being an older anime, his unique style has stood the test of time well.

I leaned a lot about Osamu Dezaki from the audio commentary.  I didn't know that Dezaki worked for the father of anime, Osamu Tezuka.  In the commentary, Dezaki describes his feelings when he was finally able to work on a classic character.  He also talks about the technical issues and his ideas on what makes a good anime series.  It was a shame that we have to wait until the last volume to get the rest of the audio commentary.  I was really interested in what he had to say. 

I really enjoyed Black Jack: Seizure.  While I may not run out and become a doctor, I will run out and pick up the next volume.

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